nx/docs/shared/recipes/add-stack/add-dotnet.md

title	description
Add a New .NET Project	Learn how to integrate .NET projects with Nx using the @nx-dotnet/core plugin, including setup, configuration, and leveraging Nx features.

Add a New .NET Project

Supported Features

Because we are using an Nx plugin for .NET, all the features of Nx are available.

{% pill url="/features/run-tasks" %}✅ Run Tasks{% /pill %} {% pill url="/features/cache-task-results" %}✅ Cache Task Results{% /pill %} {% pill url="/ci/features/remote-cache" %}✅ Share Your Cache{% /pill %} {% pill url="/features/explore-graph" %}✅ Explore the Graph{% /pill %} {% pill url="/ci/features/distribute-task-execution" %}✅ Distribute Task Execution{% /pill %} {% pill url="/getting-started/editor-setup" %}✅ Integrate with Editors{% /pill %} {% pill url="/features/automate-updating-dependencies" %}✅ Automate Updating Nx{% /pill %} {% pill url="/features/enforce-module-boundaries" %}✅ Enforce Module Boundaries{% /pill %} {% pill url="/features/generate-code" %}✅ Use Code Generators{% /pill %} {% pill url="/features/automate-updating-dependencies" %}✅ Automate Updating Framework Dependencies{% /pill %}

Install the @nx-dotnet/core Plugin

{% callout type="warning" title="Have .NET already installed?" %} Make sure you have .NET installed on your machine. Consult the .NET docs for more details {% /callout %}

{% tabs %} {%tab label="npm"%}

npm add -D @nx-dotnet/core

{% /tab %} {%tab label="yarn"%}

yarn add -D @nx-dotnet/core

{% /tab %} {%tab label="pnpm"%}

pnpm add -D @nx-dotnet/core

{% /tab %}

{% tab label="bun" %}

bun add -D @nx-dotnet/core

{% /tab %} {% /tabs %}

Set up your workspace

Use the init generator to scaffold out some root level configuration files.

nx g @nx-dotnet/core:init

This generates the following files:

{
  "version": 1,
  "isRoot": true,
  "tools": {}
}

<!--
  This file is imported early in the build order.
  Use it to set default property values that can be overridden in specific projects.
-->
<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <!-- Output path configuration -->
    <RepoRoot>$([System.IO.Path]::GetFullPath('$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)'))</RepoRoot>
    <ProjectRelativePath>$([MSBuild]::MakeRelative($(RepoRoot), $(MSBuildProjectDirectory)))</ProjectRelativePath>
    <BaseOutputPath>$(RepoRoot)dist/$(ProjectRelativePath)</BaseOutputPath>
    <OutputPath>$(BaseOutputPath)</OutputPath>
    <BaseIntermediateOutputPath>$(RepoRoot)dist/intermediates/$(ProjectRelativePath)/obj</BaseIntermediateOutputPath>
    <IntermediateOutputPath>$(BaseIntermediateOutputPath)</IntermediateOutputPath>
    <AppendTargetFrameworkToOutputPath>true</AppendTargetFrameworkToOutputPath>
  </PropertyGroup>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <RestorePackagesWithLockFile>false</RestorePackagesWithLockFile>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

<!--
  This file is imported late in the build order.
  Use it to override properties and define dependent properties.
-->
<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <MSBuildProjectDirRelativePath>$([MSBuild]::MakeRelative($(RepoRoot), $(MSBuildProjectDirectory)))</MSBuildProjectDirRelativePath>
    <NodeModulesRelativePath>$([MSBuild]::MakeRelative($(MSBuildProjectDirectory), $(RepoRoot)))</NodeModulesRelativePath>
  </PropertyGroup>
  <Target Name="CheckNxModuleBoundaries" BeforeTargets="Build">
    <Exec Command="node $(NodeModulesRelativePath)/node_modules/@nx-dotnet/core/src/tasks/check-module-boundaries.js --project-root &quot;$(MSBuildProjectDirRelativePath)&quot;"/>
  </Target>
</Project>

And on Nx versions earlier than 17:

{
  "nugetPackages": {}
}

Create an Application

Use the app generator to create a new .NET app. For this demo, use the nx path naming convention and the web-api project template.

nx g @nx-dotnet/core:app my-api --directory=apps/my-api --test-template nunit --language C#

Serve the API by running

nx serve my-api

Create a Library

To create a new library, run the library generator. Use the classlib template.

nx g @nx-dotnet/core:lib dotnet-lib --directory=libs/dotnet-lib

We also want to add a project reference from my-api to dotnet-lib using the project-reference generator:

nx generate @nx-dotnet/core:project-reference --project=my-api --reference=dotnet-lib

Now we can move the WeatherForecast.cs file out of the my-api folder and into the dotnet-lib folder. We also need to update the namespace for the file like this:

namespace DotnetLib;

public class WeatherForecast
{
    public DateOnly Date { get; set; }

    public int TemperatureC { get; set; }

    public int TemperatureF => 32 + (int)(TemperatureC / 0.5556);

    public string? Summary { get; set; }
}

Now use the dotnet-lib version of WeatherForecast in my-api:

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using DotnetLib;

namespace MyApi.Controllers;

// the rest of the file is unchanged

Now when you serve your api it will use the class from the library.

More Documentation

• nx-dotnet
• .NET